sanshouheil wrote:Some of you guys who have more playing experience, perhaps you can shead some light on a subject for me. I want more tone varience and effect from my strat to meet the need of the different types of music we play. I currently use boss pedals into my PA. How were effects achieved before all of this digital technology? Are there truly advantages in tube vs solid state amps. and what are the disadvantages? I need a metal or very heavy rock sound, a well differentiated blues tone as well as a clean soft tone to match or enhance the acoustic sound of our other guitarist.
Any Ideas ?
To answer the overall question: I think a Mesa Boogie Triaxis is ideal
for versatility. I own a Triaxis preamp with a 2:90 power amp and couldn't be happier; very warm tones, very smooth leads. Great distortion - awesome lead tones. It has 8 separate circuits, so there's essentially 8 separate amps in the box. You can get anything from modern crunch to vintage distortion tones, several types of clean channels and nice leads.
There's 128 programmable channels on the Triaxis - you can store more preset tones than you'll probably ever need. With a simple midi footswitch (I use a Rocktron Midi-mate) you can get to any tone in your arsenal quickly and easily. On some songs I'm switching between as many as 5-6 different tones during the course of a song. The footswitch makes it instantaneous (and with my effects unit I can also switch effects at the same time I switch tones on the amp). I'm all about simplicity, and with a setup like this you can switch tones all night long with one tap of your foot. The only drawback is that you have to spend time up-front programming in all the tones you want. But I consider this a huge win because I only have to program a tone (and matching group of effects) one time - and then I never have to mess with it again. Plus, my effects unit is rack-mounted (as is the Triaxis and 2:90 power amp) so I don't have footpedals and stomp boxes all over the place. My setup and teardown time for my gear is minimal - I just have to plug in the power conditioner to a wall and I'm ready to go.
There's one other thing I'd recommend you have, regardless of which amp you buy: a BB Preamp. It has great sustain without coloring the tone - just a really great box to augment your sound. It will make any amp sound better.
Of course, the caveat with all Mesa Boogie equipment is that it's expensive stuff. So if budget is a concern (and for most musicians it is) then the Triaxis/2:90 combo is out of reach. However, Mesa makes some GREAT combo amps (like the Lone Star), and with a BB Preamp I think you could get a whole lot of great tones for a reasonable price.
As for the tube/solid state thing: almost universally guitar players will tell you that tubes simply sound better. They're warmer, they have a better tone, better response and they just flat out sound better. The only disadvantage to a tube amp (and I consider this minor) is that you do eventually have to replace the tubes, and they are not always cheap.
Preamps typically use 12AX7 type of tubes (very small). I just replaced all five of my 12AX7's (I put a different type of tube in every slot, because they affect the 8 circuits in different ways) and it ran me just over $100 for all five.
Power amps use bigger tubes. My 2:90 has 6 6L6's. Those get spendy. Like someone else in this thread said, about $200 to replace all of them. But considering you probably only have to do that every couple of years, it's a small investment for great tone (I think).
If I were you I'd buy an amp for sure and stop playing through the P.A. And I'd definitely try out everything before you buy anything. Before I bought my Mesa gear, I played at least half a dozen different name brand amps. At the time, in fact, I had no idea Mesa Boogie existed. I knew Marshal, Crate, Peavy, etc. I played through everything I could find, and then I accidentally found the Boogies. And it only took once for me to be sold on the tone quality.
The most important thing you can do in the Quest For Tone is play through as many different types of amps as possible. Go to stores and play through them - and KEEP NOTES! Take a notepad with you to the store and write down what you liked and what you did not. If versatility is key, note that.
Good luck in your quest!
